Island Water Technologies – Hiring practices

Dr. Patrick Kiely, Founder/CEO, with his wife Andrea Robertson, and children Donncha and Oisin Kiely.

Wastewater technology company hires specialized staff

Island Water Technologies (IWT) is a wastewater technology company specializing in modular, solar powered treatment solutions. The company is located in Montague.

The company began in 2014, and provides robust, low-complexity self-powered wastewater treatment for domestic and industrial applications.

Wastewater is first treated aerobically in a primary treatment tank with advanced composite polymer materials. A secondary chamber provides additional filtration and disinfection based on specific customer requirements.

The operation is self powered, which means it does not need to be connected to an electrical grid, significantly reducing on-site capital costs, operational costs, and site restrictions. The modular plug-and-play design system requires minimal site disturbance and has a small footprint.

IWT produces wastewater treatment solutions with a particular focus on serving populations in remote areas. The company recently achieved a major milestone when they shipped the world’s first solar powered wastewater treatment system to the Canadian military in Gagetown, New Brunswick.

The market for these wastewater systems is international. Over the past 18 months, the company has been working to build partnerships and identify potential customers around the world.

They are particularly interested in developing partnerships with multi-national companies that provide equipment to mining operations, military operations, and humanitarian missions in remote areas.

The company recently announced that they have secured their first significant international purchase order. They will be shipping a wastewater treatment unit to an Italian-based company in Algeria, and it will be installed in a remote mining operation there.

The system design and manufacture of this unit will take place with the help of the company’s partners, Advanced Atlantic Power Technologies Inc. (AAPT) in Pooles Corner, and Aspin Kemp & Associates (AKA) in Montague.

Mission and goal

The company’s goal is to reduce the energy required to process wastewater. At present, wastewater treatment is very energy intensive. Most wastewater is pumped from a watershed and processed in one place, which takes a lot of energy. It also costs a lot of money because the pipe infrastructure must be upgraded.

The company’s mission focuses on developing decentralized wastewater treatment solutions that require less energy or rely on renewable sources such as solar power.

The technologies and solutions work for a variety of needs, from a single home owner with a septic tank, to a municipal waste water treatment system.

About the staff

There are nine full-time staff, and part-time consultants are hired when needed. The nine staff are PEI residents who have highly specialized skills.

“We have been very, very lucky to fill these highly specialized positions,” says Dr. Patrick Kiely, Founder/CEO. “We’ve never actually gone out looking for people. Applicants find us on our website, where we do our marketing and branding. We have a reasonably clear mission statement, which people are drawn to.”

Future hiring needs

“Future hiring will depend on revenue growth and sales growth,” says Patrick. “Probably in 2017, there will be growth at AAPT, our sub-contractor on the manufacturing side.

“If IWT hires in the future, they will be looking for about five specialized environmental engineering professionals with wastewater experience.

Is there a need for bilingual staff?

“Our company very much depends on export sales,” says Patrick. “We have targeted Latin America, the Middle East, North Africa, and the Caribbean for future growth. Someone who can speak Spanish or Arabic would be beneficial.”

Best way to get your foot in the door

“The best way to get your foot in the door is to tell us you are interested in working with us,” says Patrick. “Applicants can contact us through our website.”

How to stand out during the hiring process

“We really want to hire people who want to work with us for the right reasons,” says Patrick. “I don’t want someone to come here just to get a job. We want people who are environmentally aware and committed to what we are doing at IWT.”

Typical questions asked in an interview

“Really, there are no typical interview questions,” says Patrick. “We want to hire people who basically want to develop environmental solutions or environmentally sustainable technologies, and have a passion for their work. These principles are very important to the company.”

When working for the company, what are the keys to successful employment?

The company values the ability to communicate, attention to detail, and excitement and passion for your work.

Education / training

Most of the people working for IWT have a Masters degree, a PhD, or a professional engineering designation. There are also environmental technicians and wastewater technicians.

On the production side, AAPT is responsible for hiring their own staff.

For more information about Island Water Technologies visit www.islandwatertech.com or contact Jennifer Taran, VP Corporate Operations, at 902-361-2085.

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The Canada Revenue Agency’s Community Volunteer Income Tax Program (CVITP) is offering free tax preparation clinics where volunteers complete tax returns for eligible individuals. You may be eligible if you have a modest income and... [Read More...]

Upcoming Events

The Canada Revenue Agency’s Community Volunteer Income Tax Program (CVITP) is offering free tax preparation clinics where volunteers complete tax returns for eligible individuals. You may be eligible if you have a modest income and... [Read More...]

The Canada Revenue Agency’s Community Volunteer Income Tax Program (CVITP) is offering free tax preparation clinics where volunteers complete tax returns for eligible individuals. You may be eligible if you have a modest income and... [Read More...]

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